


Try Again

by theobjectlesson



Series: Effortless [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Drunken Confessions, F/M, breaking up, fraaaaandsheeep, general snark, past Sokka/Suki - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 07:04:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10531371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theobjectlesson/pseuds/theobjectlesson
Summary: Prequel to Fight. Sokka sees no reason to ever lift his head off this bar, until he does.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Post-series by some number of years, but still some number of years before part 1. Seriously, how do I timeline?

 

 

For being such a common resting place for them, bars are just not that comfortable to put your head on. Sokka won’t be deterred though. Crying (stoic, manly crying) gave way to drinking pretty quickly, and drinking held its own as the plan for a good long while. But after a certain number of drinks (more than 5, less than 10), even he has to admit he needs a new strategy. So the 3rd wave of his plan is to put his head on the bar and leave it there. It’s going well so far, but man, bars are just not that comfortable.

It’s a good thing he knows the bartender, or this probably wouldn’t be allowed. Sokka’s pretty sure there’s rules about this kind of behavior, but Mr. Lin is an old friend of his. And Suki’s, for that matter, which is probably why Mr. Lin hasn’t said a damn thing about the fact that Sokka’s head is on the bar even as his hand has a death grip on a mostly empty glass. Just to keep his options open.

Unfortunately, some of the other patrons of his fine (dirty, dark) establishment don’t know Sokka, and they certainly don’t know Suki, so they’ve got more of an opinion about his position.

“That’s just pathetic.”

Sokka doesn’t even bother to look up, not for this asshole, not for the end of times, until he hears a heavy thud and an “argh” and then the unmistakable sound of another head colliding with the bar but with considerable force. So he lifts his head to see Mr. Lin, still wiping a grimy mug, sigh and shrug. Then someone sits down next to Sokka, so he turns his head and the tavern spins a little.

“Toph…?”

“Heya, Snoozles. Fancy finding you here.”

Sokka looks behind her at two men dragging an unconscious heap towards the direction of the door.

“What uh, what happened there?”

“No one calls my friends pathetic and walks away. Even when they are being a little pathetic. Not even going to defend yourself?”

Sokka puts his head back on the bar.

“Don’t have to, s’what I have you for.”

He feels a firm hand on his shoulder.

“Oh, Sokka.”

He should really pull it together, Sokka thinks to himself from the privacy of his little arm cocoon. It wasn’t like it was a horrible break up. No one lied, no one snuck around, no one was already betrothed and then turned into the moon. No one even yelled. He and Suki just weren’t right for each other, but in that slow way where he got really fond of her being around before he realized it and then held on too long because he still loved her and surely that should be enough right? Turns out, it isn’t really, so now, instead of getting married, Suki’s headed back to her post in the Fire Nation to help Zuko not get assassinated and Sokka… well, Sokka is here and at a total loss of what to do with his sudden wealth of free time.

“And that… that’s the sad part, Toph. Not like, I know ending it, it was for the best and stuff just… I got used to things how they were and now what the hell am I supposed to do?”

Oh. Shit. So maybe not entirely to himself in the privacy of his little arm cocoon. Well, at least it’s Toph. She’ll judge him to pieces but if anyone else says a word against him… well, talk to the unconscious man on the floor. You know, when he comes to after the quick introduction of his head to the lacquered wooden bar.

“Sokka, you were in a relationship coma for like, ever. Now you’ve woken up and have to reintegrate yourself with the world again. It totally sucks. I get it, I really get it, but you don’t have to-“

“Wait, you do?” he interrupts, and it’s a good thing he looks so miserable or she probably would’ve hit him. Toph does still level a hard stare slightly past his ear though.

“Sokka, do you think that I’ve never been through a breakup?”

If he’s being honest, which he is because he’s pretty drunk? Kind of, yeah. Sokka had honestly never given Toph’s relationship history much thought, which now that he thinks about it while peering at her through a haze of day-drinking, is kind of weird. They talk about everything, no sugar coat, no lingering judgement, but Toph’s never mentioned dating anyone. Sokka realizes he kind of had assumed she didn’t date at all. It wasn’t a totally ridiculous assumption. Toph was generally pretty busy, setting up the new police department more or less by herself, chief in everything but title (and the title was coming soon). Bending master, city builder, literal iron fist of justice, all-around total badass. Hard to imagine her leaving their nights together at the pub, laughing and yelling and affectionately punching each other, to go home to some _guy_.

“Well, believe you me, Sokka, some lucky individuals have made this particular mistake. I mean, maybe not for as long as you and Suki, but trust me. I get it.”

Sokka frowns into the remains of his drink.

“Why didn’t you ever mention it?”

Toph laughs, swiping the drink from his hands and taking a sip, “Oh who knows, maybe I didn’t want the Dai Li inquisition about it.”

Sokka’s frown deepens, because that pretty much cuts off his next move which was asking about 500 to a thousand questions. Who was he, where’s he from, what does he do, is he taller than me?

“Exactly. And no, he wasn’t taller than you.”

Dammit all to the spirit world. She’s smiling though, probably at what a sad sack he is. Sokka scowls at his now drinkless hands, newly single status briefly forgotten. He can’t believe she denied him the opportunity to interrogate this guy, whoever he was, maybe rough him up a little, run him out of town...

“See, that face you’re making now, that’s exactly why I don’t ever mention these things to any of you lunatics. It’s like a little cult, I swear.”

“He didn’t deserve you.”

“Pssh you just didn’t want to lose your drinking buddy.”

Well… no, he didn’t want to lose her. Sokka pauses. She seems like she’s joking, but was that a possibility? He guesses it was, kind of. There certainly had been nights, plenty of nights, when he’d had to say no, sorry, he had plans with Suki. Toph had always waved him off, no problem, but Sokka thinks about the situation in reverse, and scowls harder, and then immediately feels like the world’s most colossal jerk.

“Lighten up, Snoozles. Clearly it didn’t work out or I probably wouldn’t be here with your sorry ass, trying to make you feel better,” she laughs, but it’s a little high, a little… something through the lens of Sokka’s drunken ears and he turns to look at her.

After a second to resolve his double vision, Sokka leans his head on his palm and watches Toph take another sip of his drink. It makes sense, now that he stops to (try to) think about it, that Toph would have someone. People probably were lining up. The killer bending, the witty humor, the face… the face? What? Sokka peers at her face in the dim light. It’s… well it’s a really nice face she has, that best friend of his. Long but not too long, sharp but not too boney, and all pretty, well. Pretty. And hair. She’s got nice hair. It’s usually all tucked up for kicking the crap out of Republic City lowlife, but now it’s long and kind of swishy and probably in need of a good brushing if everyone’s being honest. And eyes. She’s got really nice, big, pretty eyes, like kind of too pretty for how rough she is, though Sokka will never, ever say it because he doesn’t want to die.

“Ok, moon-face, it is definitely time to get you home. And by home I mean to my couch because you my friend require supervision and Katara would bury me in snow if I left you alone.”

-

The walk home is slow, the very capable blind leading the very clumsy drunk. Still, they’ve done it before when both parties were thoroughly in the bag so relatively speaking it’s an easy one. Sokka lets Toph prop him against her house while she gets the door, and from there it’s a simple matter of falling back onto her couch while she retrieves a glass and some water.

The room is spinning above him when she gets back, pressing the water into his hands and kneeling next to him until he takes a good long sip before setting it on the table behind her.

“Thanks, thanks. You’re the best.”

She chuckles softly, reaching down to pull off his boots.

“I know this.”

“Hey… hey Toph?”

“What’s up, Sokka?”

He peers at her. It’s dark in the house, just a little light streaming in from the street lamps, giving him a sliver of her face in orange light. He smiles wide.

“I like you.”

She laughs, “I know this as well.”

Sokka frowns. His brain feels like this thoughts are wading through mud. He changes strategy.

“No I mean. I mean. It’s good you broke up with whateverhisfaces. Breaks up are good.”

“Yeah it was a real blast, 10 out of 10 would buy again,” she deadpans.

“No, listen, because. Because. You’re very. You’re very pretty, and I like you.”

There’s a very, _very_ long silence. So long even Sokka notices it through all the mud (alcohol) in his head. Then, softer than he knew was possible, like a light breeze, fingers card through his hair. Fingers that feel like they’re trembling a little but that’s not possible either.

“Oh, you colossal idiot,” she says quietly, but the fingers stay, and feel really nice, so Sokka doesn’t mind. His eyes are closed when she speaks again.

“How about this, Sokka. How about, some day, you try that again sometime. Sometime not right now.”

“Mhmmmkay. Whens someday?”

“Whenever. Next time you get this dumb idea in your head that I’m very pretty and you like me and you want to tell me about it, you try again. Alright?”

“That’ll be tomorrow.”

“Sure it will, Snoozles, sure it will. Get some sleep, okay?”

“Yep.”

-

Of course, it’s not tomorrow. Tomorrow is headaches and fog and trying to figure out what the hell to do with himself now that he’s alone. But Toph’s there for all of it, and she makes him bacon and cons Katara into using her healing magic on his hangover, so there’s a good place to start.

 

 

 


End file.
